1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to undersea oil and gas wells and, more particularly, to a method and a system for capping and/or controlling undersea oil or gas well blowouts.
2. The Prior Art
Man's search for fossil fuel has not yet abated. Prominent in this search is undersea exploration for oil and gas. As known, this is not only expensive but entails much risk. One risk involves blowouts. Blowouts pose grave threat to personnel working near oil and gas wells, They are also dangerous and expensive to cap. Further, runaway wells also are a source of pollution. Consequently, a great deal of effort has been expended, particularly of late, in improving capping and/or controlling undersea oil or gas well blowouts.
An early attempt included the use of a protective hood which could be lowered over the well. See U.S. Pat. No. 1,830,061. A more sophisticated and of course expensive device is represented by the eletrohydraulic blowout prevention developed in the early 60's by the Shell Oil Company. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,336. Around the turn of the 70's, an improved hood has been developed for controlling fire and loss of oil in offshore, multiple-well installations. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,290. About the same time, Texaco Inc., has developed a clamping device, both submergible and remotely operable, to choke off a blown well casing and flow line. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,017. For shallow waters of up to a depth of about 120 feet, a protective shroud has been developed, primarily as a pollution control device, preventing thereby oil spells into the water. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,159. A further improvement in hoodlike structures is evident form the British Patent GB No. 2,002,839A and from the U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,118. Also, elaborate subsea stations already have been developed for use about oil or gas wellheads, including remotely controlled wire line robot units, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,911. For the in situ hardening of structures on the seafloor by the placing of freshly mixed concrete thereat, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,889.
Thus, the known prior art is replete with various attempts at assuring the safe and effective retrieval of undersea oil and gas deposits. Each of these prior art devices, however, has inherent advantages and disadvantages. For, none completely eliminates risk, and most of them are tedious and expensive.